Exploring the powerful, parallel journeys of nurturing women’s health and restoring our planet.
In the month of April, there are many significant days that are celebrated by focusing on the health and wellness of the people of the world and the world itself. World Health Day was celebrated on April 7, 2025 and is continuing a yearlong review and discussion about the evolving care and healthful activism for maternal health (World health organization, 2025). This led right into Black Maternal Health Week – April 11 – 17 (Black maternal health week, 2025), as maternal health and the survival of mothering as Black women continue to demonstrate a serious decline in safe and equitable care while pregnant and in post-pregnancy. In the fourth week of April, we celebrated Earth Day, April 22nd in which we continue to promote our ability to be good stewards of what we have been given, so that we may protect Mother Earth’s resources (Reyna-Rodriguez, 2025), however, it has become yet another polarizing political battle.
It should not be lost on anyone that the health of Mother Earth and the health of the women of the world is a symbiotic and synchronous relationship. You can see it in their themes and meaningful purposes for the year:
- World Health Day – Healthy Beginnings, Healthy Futures
- Black Maternal Health Week – Our Bodies STILL Belong to the US: Reproductive Justice NOW!
- Earth Day – Our Power, Our Planet
As a symbiotic relationship with the earth, all women are assumed to be the nurturers, even if that is not their natural inclination. Women that are born with the natural inclination to be a caregiver, a nurturer still have to learn how to bring differing entities together for the better health of all. Elderly parents, children, siblings, spouses, best friends, people they do not know, animals, plants, households, workplaces, etc. are all developed in a woman’s never ending health caregiving cycle by creating cooperative, interdependent relationships with those who need her attention.
In a synchronous relationship with the earth, women’s health issues rise and fall in somewhat of a pattern of wellness or illness, of regional terrors and disasters, of constant growth and frequent oppression of growth (having to take 3 steps of movement in order for one step forward to actually be taken), of determining whether passiveness is still the best way to get by or if assertiveness is the only way to get up and get through. The earth still smiles and women still smile even through all the aggressiveness that is enacted upon them as women, mothers, sisters, and friends.
This is not to say that women are the only caregivers. In my own family, my father cared for my mother until her passing – a 50+ year union; my brother-in-law with my sister’s help caring for his mother until her passing, and my male friends and spouses of friends caring for their elderly parents and siblings. As well as many of the men healthcare professionals I have worked with throughout my career. However, the expectation of being a nurturer and caregiver is not applied to men at their birth or as they grow. The statistic of women being the main decision-maker when in comes to the health of their families has not changed in decades. Depending upon the article or survey you read it lands between 78% and 80%, especially if they are mothers.
However, this continued and effective decision-making does not translate into better and equitable care for women’s health issues. Women’s health, much like Mother Earth, is dependent upon relationships and social support, satisfaction in marital and long-term relationships, cohesiveness of homelife, acknowledgements in work life, and self-appreciation for perseverance in all other social drivers of health (Idris & Hamis, et al., 2023). It is almost as if Mother Earth should have her own social drivers of health.
The point is…If we are caring for the women and mothers and Mother Earth synchronously and symbiotically we may, just possibly improve on their abilities and the outcomes to continue better care of themselves and others which can align better with better care and empathy for Mother Earth.
As a leader in any industry here are a few ideas and actions that intertwine the health of women with that of Mother Earth, that show how both are interconnected and often similarly impacted by systemic neglect, expectation, and undervaluation. Here are four key takeaways that will help you easily blend the themes of women’s health and environmental health:
1. Interconnected Wellness: Women and Earth as Co-Stewards of Life
Just as Mother Earth sustains life through its ecosystems, women often sustain their families and communities through caregiving roles. Women are expected to nurture—yet both are often taken for granted. Recognizing and honoring this interconnected wellness means investing in women’s health and environmental health simultaneously. When we create systems that support both—from maternal care to clean air and safe water—we elevate the collective ability to heal, thrive, and give back.
🟢 Action for Leaders:
Host a “Circle of Care” event in your workplace or community—a shared conversation space where women can talk about wellness and sustainability together. Invite a local maternal health advocate and an environmental justice leader to speak on the parallels in their work. This helps connect the dots for others and builds cross-sector awareness and allyship.
2. The Burden of Care Without the Benefits of Equity
Despite their central roles in caregiving, decision-making, and nurturing, women—especially Black and Brown women—face stark inequities in healthcare access and outcomes. Similarly, the Earth is expected to keep giving while being depleted. Basically, expectation without support leads to decline. Policies and practices must shift from extraction and over-reliance to regeneration and equity—whether we’re talking about reproductive justice or sustainable resource use.
🟢 Action for Leaders:
Audit your organization’s wellness benefits or leave policies—specifically for caregivers and mothers. Do they allow time for healing, for parenting, for mental health? Do they support environmental sustainability (e.g., green spaces, clean air, toxin-free buildings)? Advocate for updates and include women in the redesign process.
3. Social Drivers of Health Apply to the Planet Too
It is a powerful metaphor—Mother Earth might need her own “social drivers of health.” Just like a woman’s health is shaped by relationships, community cohesion, and appreciation, the planet’s health depends on how we collectively interact with and honor it. Promoting environments—both physical and social—that support resilience, connection, and agency benefits women and the Earth.
🟢 Action for Leaders:
Start a “Wellness & Environment Check-In” practice at your next team meeting. Once a month, dedicate 10 minutes for staff to reflect and share one thing they’ve done for their own wellness and one thing for the Earth. This simple routine can shift culture, create awareness, and inspire personal accountability.
4. Leadership for Symbiotic Transformation
Leaders need to recognize their roles in shaping conditions that allow both women and the Earth to flourish. This means building spaces of empathy, agency, and advocacy—where women’s voices are heard, their choices are respected, and Earth’s resources are preserved with intention. True leadership nurtures, just like the very systems we rely on. It’s not just about “saving” women or the planet—it’s about building a future where both can lead and thrive.
🟢 Action for Leaders:
Mentor a woman in leadership and sponsor an eco-conscious community project. Pair the two as a dual-impact effort: for example, mentor an emerging leader or leader in your pipeline, as she leads a local “clean air walk” or organizes a community maternal health drive. The combination reinforces how nurturing women’s growth can go hand-in-hand with environmental care.
SVCF is available to consult, work with, and support your women and earth-caring solutions by:
🌿 Workshop Series
Empowering leaders with SVCF’s Regenerative Leadership workshop—where equity in women’s health meets environmental sustainability.
🌎 Impact Lab
Partner with SVCF to co-create real-world solutions through our Leadership for Earth & Equity Impact Lab.
🤝 Policy & Culture Audits
Let SVCF audit your culture and policies through a dual equity lens—centered on women’s health and environmental care.
Contact SVCF HERE or place your contact information in the comment section below with your interests and questions.
Celebrate All Year Long World Health Day, Black & Brown Women’s Maternal Health, and Mother Earth!
References
Black maternal health week 2025: April 11 – 17. (2025). Retrieved from Black Mamas Matter Alliance: https://blkmaternalhealthweek.com/
Idris, I., Hamis, A., Bukhori, A., Hoong, D., Yusop, H., Shaharuddin, M.A., Fauzi, N.A.F.A., Kandayah, T. (2023). Women’s autonomy in health decision making: A systematic review. BMC Women’s Health, 23(1). doi:10.1186/s12905-023-02792-4
Reyna-Rodriquez, V. (2025, April 1). When is earth day 2025? Here are a few reasons why we celebrate the annual holiday. Retrieved from Des Moines Register: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2025/04/01/earth-day-2025-when/82756382007/
World Health Organization. (2025, April 7). World health day 2025: Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures. Retrieved from World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2025/04/07/default-calendar/world-health-day-2025-healthy-beginnings-hopeful-futures